Moa Imperial Stout (Aged In Pinot Noir Barrels) | Moa Brewing Company

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Decanted from a 12.7 oz (376 ml) bottle into a snifter glass; no production information.
A: Pours pitch black color with virtually no head formation, just a slight rim of bubbles, and no lacing. Rudimentary legs.
S: Aromas of espresso, unsweetened chocolate, pitted fruit (plum, cherry), berry, molasses, tobacco. A little nutty.
T: Semisweet and booziness evident. Flavors basically mirror the nose. Could I pick up pinot noir? In truth, maybe. Tobacco bitterness a nice offset to the sweet malts.
M: Full bodied and thick with virtually no carbonation.
O: This was an ambitious effort and certainly a complex flavor sensation. I tend to like high carbonation in my stouts and that was not an element of this bottle of Moa. Perhaps that is simply a product of barrel aging. Production information when the plan is to export would be helpful.

Vaguely translucent black pour into the center of a large snifter didn't produce any head at all... No idea about the bottling date, but this was really wine-forward beer! I'd almost go so far as to say it simply tasted like someone mixed pinot noir with a stout...

Lots of tannic berry and cherry-like impressions - not too tart, not too sweet, but very reminiscent of a dark red wine, with ample barrel notes - and then more traditional cocoa and coffee-like suggestions of stout ale... The body was very thin, smooth and easy-drinking - not heavy at all, and very slick and quick across the palate...

As it warmed, it became more stout-like, and I gotta say, I'm really liking it, but as a RIS, it may not be what you're looking for, but as an interesting brew... well, really cool...

L: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a dark brown color and an opaque texture. There was a small amount of foamy, tan-colored head that quickly dissipated. Pretty sparse lacing.

S: A quite subdued aroma of chocolate, malt, a vinous quality, and caramel.

T: Tasted of a lot of roasted malt, a bit of dark chocolate, the aforementioned vinous quality (the advertised pinot noir), a lot of lactose notes, a hint of caramel, and a woody quality. None the ingredients, save the lactose, really shine through. Kind of a low impact flavor.

F: An average amount of carbonation with a dry as dirt finish. Medium-bodied.

Thin and blackish brown with no head, highly viscous. Kinda looks like used motor oil. The nose brings chocolate rapberry and vanilla bean. The taste starts sweet with chocolate syrup, and a smooth the buttery oak. Red raspberry was prominent at first but receeds as you keep drinking giving way to fascinating eucalyptus herbal brightness and heat. Long cocoa nib finishes. Just the right amount of dryness. I was disappointed at first by the low carbonation but more might have overpowered the more subtle buttery flavors. This is a smooth sweet sipper. At first I didn't get it but its more of a liqueur or an apperetif then a beer. Hard to believe the ABV considering how easy and smooth it is.

A- Opens well and pours a nearly 1" high brown head that films out within 2mins. Very dark brown colour

S- Lots of malt and barrel aging. Some heat

T- Mellow sweet and slight mild barrel flavor. Must be a second use barrel as I have had first use barrel brews and they are far more potent in the wine flavor. Not a bad brew but subdued in the barrel aging department. With a first use this brew is a 5 on the taste as the base stout is spot on

M- Creamy going down then dries out as expected.

O- Like this one. Mellow and rich. Excellent sipping brew. Super well blended. Will buy if I ever see it around

Food Pairing

This wonderful little brew was a bit easier to pair due to the subdued barrel flavor so... This brew went well with....... Slowly BBQ beef ribs with a home made rub

The bottle design is nice. This stout looks really good. Poured ruby red while pouring and looks black. Head disappears to a nice ring. The smell is hoppy, grape, and oak. Tastes sweet with coffee bitterness and lingering hops. Feel is not thick, but good. This is a good stout and I reaaly enjoyed this. The price tag was 5.99, so I will probably buy another and age it to see how it changes. This is not bad for 100 IBU's. It's also pretty thin for a stout.

Looks like a really solid stout. Nice thin film of bubbles, some immediate lacing.
Smells more like wine than beer. Those pinot barrels really did their work. Tons of red grape and oak on the nose.
Flavor is oak, dark cocoa, red wine, smoky roasted malt, and a bit of bitterness in the background.
The carbonation works well, but I would like a bit more density.
Overall, a pretty solid expression of the style. The wine barrels complement the stout without overpowering it.

Picked up a 4 case of these for $1.99.....yes 1 dollar 99 in bellmore, ny. Ridiculous price so gave it a try.this is surprisingly good, especially for $0.50 a bottle.smell has a definite oaky red wine smell and its also present in the stout, it combines well though and its a pretty good stout overall.